Staff Development

The Paradoxical Commandments

By Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001 Check out an awesome website Helping People Find Personal Meaning In A Crazy World http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/

Coffee beans, carrots and eggs… teach us such amazing truths

Imagine…three pots of boiling water… One with coffee beans, one with eggs, and one with carrots…

After twenty minutes each pot’s contents is placed in a bowl.

Feel the carrots. They will be soft and mushy.

Pull the shell off the egg; you will observe a hardened egg.

Sip the coffee… Ahh… Notice the deep flavor, rich aroma, and sweet fragrance…

Each of these objects faced the same challenge… Boiling water in this case…

But each reacted differently – And each yielded different results.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting… After the boiling water challenge, it became weak.

The egg though fragile, had a thin, outer shell Protecting its liquid interior After the boiling water challenge, it became hardened.

The coffee beans uniquely endured the boiling water challenge And changed their surroundings…

The carrots responded by wilting and losing strength.

The egg started with a fluid spirit, became hardened - stiff. The outer shell strong - hiding bitterness & a fragile spirit…

The coffee beans actually changed the hot water – The very circumstances that brought the challenge – Into something quite wonderful When the water got hot, The coffee beans released a wonderful fragrance and flavor – And stimulated a change that made a difference…